コロナ禍で起きた突然のステイホームで世界が静まり返った時、私はオホーツク海の流氷を思い出した。氷塊が漂着し水平線まで氷に覆われた海には数ヶ月間静寂が訪れる。波が消えた海は耳が痛くなるほどの非日常的な無音が広がる。ロックダウンによって封鎖された街もそれに似た静けさだった。流氷は養分を運び沿岸の街に恵みを与えてきた。今は温暖化によって数日間しか見られなくなり、いずれ接岸しなくなるとも言われている。静かな街で目の当たりにしたのは何かを失う時はある日突然ということだった。いつかは街に活気が戻ってくるだろうが、オホーツクの海岸から流氷が消え、もう二度とその光景を見ることができない日に、人々はその存在の大きさに気が付くのだろうか。

As the whole world becomes silent amid lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I reminisced the drift ice of Okhotsk Sea. A few months of silence fell over the sea usually covered by blocks of ice that drift to the shore and extend all the way into the horizon. A sea with no waves is so silent that you could hear a pin drop. The cities that have been locked down have the same extraordinary silence. Blocks of drift ice also bring along the blessings of rich nutrients with them. However, global warming has reduced the frequency to only a few days annually, and it is said that one day, they may never reach the shore. The day that we may never get to see this scenery again approaches rapidly, and yet we have not found an effective solution to this crisis. What the silence has taught us is that our ordinary lives can be suddenly stripped away. We must not let this sea of drift ice turn into a rare scenery.

Media Size: (A3+) 330mmx480mm (13x19in)
Image size: 297mmx420mm (11.7x16.5in)
Edition: 10
Media: Pictran Kyokushi Matt／局紙マット
Number of worksː 39
Project progressː from 2020 Ongoing